Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Every
year I choose a word--just one word--to focus on throughout the year. And every
year I am amazed at how that word challenges me and helps keep me on track.

Even though I didn’t share it with many people
outside of my family, my word for 2016 was "Finish." At the start of
2016, I had no agent, no publisher, and no book contract. But I had an idea for
a book that wouldn't let me go. I had talked about it so much that my family
was sick of it, so I decided that 2016 was going to be the year that, no matter
what, I would finish the book.

No matter that I didn't have an agent. (I still
don't!)

No matter that I didn't have a publisher or a
contract.

I was determined to finish the book.

And friends, I am happy--no, ELATED!--to tell
you that I finished. (Lots more to tell you about that later.)

Of course, I'm still not really finished. I will
have tons of edits to work through once my publisher gets it back to me, but,
for my "One Word" purposes--my promise to myself and to my family--I
have completed the task of finishing the book I've wanted to write for 15
years. But that one word kept me on track.

This year I didn’t know what my word was going to be. I
usually don’t try to manufacture a word to fit my thinking—it seems to work
best when I just pray about it and see what God keeps putting in front of me.

Except this year, I didn’t have a word when the calendar
turned. I didn’t have a word even a couple of days into the new year. I kept
praying that the Lord would just show me the word He wanted me to focus on
because I knew that once I “heard” it or felt it or whatever happens, I’d know
it.

Remember the game Connect4 where you put the checkers into a
slot and they fall down with a satisfying “click” as they hit the checker below
it? Yeah, it’s like that. When the word falls into my heart, I just know it.

So, a few days into January, a word seemed to click into
place in my heart. Except it didn’t. When I felt it, I thought, “No, that can’t
be it,” and I ignored it for a couple of days.

Until I heard it again. And then I read a Facebook post
about someone who chose that word last year and how God had surprised her with it. I
started to wonder . . . could this really be the word I’m supposed to focus on
this year?

It couldn’t be!
There’s no way! This is NOT the word I need!

I kept arguing with myself (or God?) and refusing to accept
this word. I even prayed, through tears, that this would not be my word this year. I asked God to give me another word. I
told him I’d keep praying about it until January 15 and see if something else (pretty please?) could be my word.

Then, over the past weekend, as my husband and I were enjoying a nice dinner out, I confessed to him that I thought I had gotten a word, but that it felt
like the wrong word. To my surprise, he didn’t laugh. He didn’t tell me that,
yeah, I’d gotten it wrong. He just listened and said that this could be
interesting.

And so, three days after my self-imposed deadline to God
(how foolish I am!), I’m giving in and sharing my One Word for 2017.

Rest.

See?! Isn’t it weird? Isn’t it crazy? I don’t need rest! I,
of all people, have a life that has plenty of rest built into it.

Besides that, I really despise laziness. Just ask my kids.
“I can’t stand lazy children!” was my mantra as they were growing up. And rest,
to me, seems like it could be taken as lazy—the last thing I want to be.

And yet, there is was. Click. Just like the checkers in the
Connect4 game, God placed that word on my heart. I’ve decided rather than fight
it, I’ll just go with it and see what happens.

Here’s what I’m already learning. Rest does not equal
laziness; they are two completely different mindsets. God has given us rest as
a gift—we need rest each night so that we won’t be lazy the next day.

I’m also learning that rest has two different meanings: to
rest (as in lie down) and to trust. And here’s where I think God may have
something to teach me.

See, I may have a wee bit of a control problem. I like to
determine outcomes even before I attempt to do something, which is why
parenting felt like such a crap shoot—there are no guarantees that our kids
will turn out OK. I needed to trust God with that one while still doing my best.

I’ve got a few things cooking this year that I’d like to
control, and yet, already, I sense God telling me to rest in Him because the
outcome isn’t up to me—it’s up to Him. I can’t make people attend the events
I’m planning. I can’t make people buy my book (ahem) when it comes out.

And when it comes to my kids, God is already speaking to me
about their lives and their futures, which, thank goodness, will look much
different from mine—I have nothing to say about it. And so I rest in His good
plan for my children.

I think it’s going to be an interesting year with this
unexpected word in the forefront of my mind. I have no idea what God has in
store with it, but I know He’s got a lot to teach me about resting in Him.
Trusting. Holding on. Staying the course, even when it doesn’t make sense.

God’s got this. I just need to rest.

Will you join me on
this journey of resting in God this year? And if you choose a word for the
year, will you share it in the comments? I’d love to hear from you!

*****

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Thursday, December 29, 2016

In the past, I’ve enjoyed sharing highlights with you at the
end of the year—fun events, travels, milestones. But this year, at least the
second half of it, I’ve mainly sat behind a desk or in a library carrel, and I’m
pretty sure you wouldn’t be interested in the hours upon hours that I’ve spent
just sitting still, staring at a screen, trying to create something meaningful
and interesting.

This year I’ve read more than I’ve read in a long time,
mainly for research, but because of all the reading I’ve done, I thought I’d
share some of the books that impacted me the most. This is by no means a
comprehensive list—I’ve read some excellent books by people I really admire—these
are just a few of the books that have impacted me in some significant way or
that have surprised me or encouraged me.

I’m a fiction gal. Fiction is my thing. I will always pick
up a fiction book over a non-fiction book . . . until this year. I just haven’t
had time to read much fiction, but one I did read and really enjoy was this
book by Chris Cleave. I loved his first book, Little Bee, which is still high on my all-time favorites list. This
book is probably just as good, but very different.

Shelly is a blogging friend whom I had the great fortune to
meet in person once. I admire her writing so much—her blog is a lovely,
peaceful, thoughtful spot, and this book is an extension of Shelly’s peaceful,
thoughtful place in the writing world. She encourages me to take God’s gift of
rest seriously in order to live a life of greater service to the world. Shelly
not only writes about this, but she lives it as she and her husband minister in
London, England.

I had the great pleasure of hearing Jen speak at my church
as a part of her book launch earlier this year. When she finished speaking, I promptly
headed to the book table and greedily bought ten copies. This book is a
God-exalting, God-honoring book, extolling His many virtues and explaining why
it’s a good thing that He’s God and we are not.

While this book has been around for a while (it came out in
2011), I hadn’t read it until this year when Brian and I did pre-marital
counseling with a dear couple. We were both blown away by this book and have
recommended it several times, even to single people we know. By far the best
book on marriage I’ve ever read.

And speaking on the best book I’ve ever read on a topic . .
. this one is hand’s down THE BEST book on parenting I’ve ever read. And,
believe me, I’ve read a LOT of parenting books. (In fact, I’m writing one!) But
seriously, if you’re a parent, no matter how old or young your kids are, you
really need to read this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The book that probably blew me away and surprised me the
most this year. I didn’t think I’d like it—I’m not into reading theology or
philosophy, if I’m honest—but I read this for some research for my own book. I ended
up loving it and recommending it to a whole host of people this year. The premise is
fairly simple: you worship what you love and what you love is what you spend
your time on. It’s a caution to us all.

Up Next:

Here are a few books that are next on my list. I can’t wait
to dig into these over the next couple of weeks.

Leslie lives in Alaska and works alongside her husband as a
commercial fisherwoman. She also writes about her life and faith, and in this
book, Leslie examines Jesus’s interactions with fishermen in the gospels while
telling stories about her own life in Alaska. I’m excited to read this one by a
fellow Redbud writer.

Speaking of fellow Redbud writers . . . meet Sarah and Erin.
I’m helping with their book launch in January, and am excited to read this book
about living lives of radical faith. I’m sure you’ll hear more from me about
this one soon. (Note: this comes out at the end of January, but you can preorder it now.)

This book was required reading for my college freshman, and as she was reading it she kept telling me, “Mom, you have GOT to
read this book. It’s amazing.” Since Martin Scorsese’s movie version of the
book is just out, I feel like I need to read it soon. Bonus: it’s fiction!

So there you go—my year in books. Now I’d like to know . . . what were some of YOUR favorite reads from 2016? Go ahead and leave me a comment!

*****

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